My Home Ideas

Special Offers

Be the first to know about This Old House contests, sweepstakes, and events and receive special offers and promotions from your favorite home improvement brands. We'll even send you regular reminders to enter our sweepstakes.

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Difficulty: Easy

2 hours

$26

All you need to build a cottage-style window box is a few feet of 6- or 8-inch-wide trim (choose straight baseboard or casing, rather than angled crown), one 2-by-2-foot sheet of ½-inch exterior plywood, water-resistant wood glue, and a shallow plastic planter to cradle the soil and flowers. Because most old trim is covered in toxic lead paint, either remove the finish with a wet stripper or seal it under a clear top coat. This is an easy one-person project, but it's more fun with a helper.